321 East Bay Street (Blake-Grimke House)

Archive

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Historic Charleston Foundation

321 East Bay Street: Origsize: 8x10; Origformat: Print-Photographic; Resolution: 75 dpi
321 East Bay Street

Origsize: 8x10; Origformat: Print-Photographic; Resolution: 75 dpi

Name/Title

321 East Bay Street (Blake-Grimke House)

Entry/Object ID

EBAY.321.1

Scope and Content

Constructed ca. 1789; north wing added ca. 1850; renovated 1960s. The only 18th-century double house surviving in the Ansonborough area, this large weatherboarded dwelling was probably built before 1789 by William Blake, descendant of a proprietary governor and a wealthy planter and slave owner in his own right. A late 18th-century plat of the site shows the front and rear staircases much as they are today, as well as a missing front forecourt (like that of the Miles Brewton House) and the now-vanished rear outbuildings. Several important residents have occupied this house. Rented for a time by the widow of a Declaration of Independence signer Arthur Middleton, it was sold to Judge John Faucheraud Grimké and utilized by his large family, including his daughters Sarah and Angelina Grimké, later famous as abolitionists and pioneers of women's rights. Purchased by Charles O. Witte in 1862, it served as his residence until his wealth and prominence as a leading entrepreneur and German consul permitted his acquisition of the grander Patrick Duncan Villa at 172 Rutledge Avenue. Witte, or his predecessor in title, William Martin, added the Victorian style north wing with bay windows. The house's other Victorian additions, except the cast-iron stair, were removed in 1965. (Poston, Buildings of Charleston.) Three files contain documentation of the covenant on the property; correspondence related to the covenant including "right-of-first-refusal" letters; annual inspection reports; requests for alterations; correspondence and other documentation related to the management of the property; historical/chain-of-title research information; various house histories (HCF, Vernacular Architecture of Charleston, Architectural Guide to Charleston, Information for Guides of Historic Charleston); newspaper articles (including 1941, 1968 DYKYC); Rosen and Associates inspection reports (1997, 2000); city directory research establishing dates occupancy of John F. Grimke and family (see Notes); Carologue Magazine article "The Grimke Family Home" (Louise Knight, 2015); documentation of HCF's purchase, rehabilitation, and rental of the property. See Covenant/Easement Inspection Photo Files for inspection photography.

Collection

Historic Charleston Foundation Property Records

Acquisition

Accession

EBAY.321.

Source or Donor

321 East Bay Street (Blake-Grimke House)

Acquisition Method

Collected by Staff

Lexicon

Search Terms

East Bay Street, Ansonborough, Covenant Property, Historic buildings--South Carolina--Charleston

Legacy Lexicon

Object Name

Property File

Archive Details

Archive Size/Extent

1 Covenant Folder 1 Management Folder 1 History/Miscellaneous Folder

Archive Notes

Finding Aids: Index to Property Files Level of Description: Folder

Location

Location

Shelf

Property File Shelves

Room

Margaretta P. Childs Archives

Building

Missroon House

Category

Permanent

Date

February 7, 2023

Location

Container

PF Box 39

Shelf

Prop File Shelves, Property File Shelves

Room

Margaretta P. Childs Archives

Building

Missroon House

Category

Permanent

Relationships

Related Entries

Notes

2006.005.020, 2020.008.2a-s, EBAY.321.10a-b, EBAY.321.11a-b, EBAY.321.12, EBAY.321.13, EBAY.321.14, EBAY.321.15, EBAY.321.16, EBAY.321.17a-i, EBAY.321.18a-b, EBAY.321.2, EBAY.321.3, EBAY.321.4, EBAY.321.5, EBAY.321.6, EBAY.321.7, EBAY.321.8, EBAY.321.9 Related Units of Description: See also Easement Manager's working files for more information. Graduate Student Inventory & Furnishings Plan (see 2016.024.1).

Related Publications

Notes

Buildings of Charleston (see Abstract), pg. 433-434

General Notes

Note

Notes: Re: date John F. Grimke purchased the house. From Louise W. Knight, author and historian (www.louisewknight.com), received by email 5/23/2015: "Through research in the City Directories, we have now confirmed that the Grimke family bought the house either in late 1802 or sometime in 1803 (they are listed on East Bay in the 1803 directory for the first time). So it can now be stated that they bought the house in 1803, which seems accurate enough. I have also learned that the family owned the house until 1839. That year, Mrs. Grimke died and the children sold it to a new owner."

Created By

admin@catalogit.app

Create Date

January 10, 2008

Updated By

admin@catalogit.app

Update Date

February 17, 2023